Loading apparatus



May z3, 1961 F. J. KENT 2,985,320

LOADING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 9, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 NVENTOR FRANCIS J.KENT b/lc/f/Lgr H Mc IHHHHHHIIVIHH AGENT.

May 23, 1961 Filed NOV. 9, 1956 F. J. KENT LOADING APPARATUS 4Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR FRANCIS J. KENT BY AGENT.

May 23, 1961 Filed Nov. 9, 1956 F. J. KENT LOADING APPARATUS FIG. 3.

4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR FRANCIS J. KENT BY May 23, 1961 F. J. KENTLOADING APPARATUS iled Nov. 9, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 AGENT.

united States Pat-em LOADING APPARATUS Francis J. Kent, Forest Hills,N.Y., assigner` to Baldwin- Lima-Hamilton Corporation, a corporation ofPenu- Sylvania Filed Nov. 9, 1956, Ser. No. 621,224

3 Claims. (Cl. 214-.-1)

This invention relates to loading apparatus, and more particularly toloading apparatus for horizontalmetal working machines such as pressesfor the extruslon of copper, copper alloys, steel, light metals and thelike.

In presses of the above type, a relatively long object such as a heatedbillet is inserted or charged into a receptacle or container and thenextruded through a die by means of a reciprocable tool in the form of aplunger r pressing stem. A shorter object serving as an auxiliary toolor dummy block is interposed between stem and billet to protect the stemand prevent the billet material from adhering thereto. After pressing,an additional tool such as a closely fitting cleaning disk may be pushedthrough the bore of the container if required to remove `residue ofmetal therefrom.

For loading the billet and dummy block or the clean- :ing disk into thepress, hydraulic or pneumatic jack means or the like are normallyprovided to lift the parts to be lloaded so that they may be chargedinto the container by -the advancing stem. In one type of press, themechanism is such that it is necessary first to charge the billet aloneinto the container, then to retract the stem, and thereafter to chargethe dummy block into the Press. Such procedure involves a loss of timeand consequently a loss of heat in the billet. In another arrangement,the charging of the billet and block is carried out during a singlestroke of the stem and with the aid of a single jack but diiculties areencountered since the jack must be retracted when the stem holderapproaches the jack. This occurs before the dummy block is received inthe container and it is necessary to provide a projection on the stem toengage a bore in the dummy block, or in the cleaning disk when loadingthe latter, to prevent these parts from dropping down. However, suchprojection on the stem is often undesirable. The same dificulties areencountered if a rocker arm alone is used and the hydraulic jack iseliminated entirely.

Therefore, it is desirable to load and support the billet and dummyblock by means of a plurality of devices disposed one adjacent to theother along the path of the advancing stem and arranged to be retractedone after the other during one continuous stroke of the stem. However,prior structures of this type have been cumbersome and have not metoperational requirements.

It is an object of the invention to provide improved loading apparatusfor a metal working machine of the horizontal type, which eliminates thedisadvantages previously encountered.

It is another object of the invention to provide a horizontal metalworking machine with loading mechanism for parts such as a billet anddummy block, which operates smoothly and effectively in conjunction withone continuous stroke of a reciprocable tool.

lt is also an object of the invention to provide a horizontal metalworking machine such as an extrusion press with apparatus in which twoelements, for example a billet and dummy block, are first received byloading means allowing convenient operation and are then additionallyguided by movable supporting means permitting fast withdrawal when areciprocable tool holder approaches the supporting means.

A further object of the invention is to provide loading apparatus of theabove type in which the movable supporting means is arranged to load anadditional tool such as a cleaning element in the metal working machine.

A still further object of the invention is to provide apparatus of theabove type having a station for loading material and for loading anauxiliary tool adjacent the retracted reciprocable tool of the metalworking machine, and an additional tool loading station adjacent thereceptacle of the machine.

Various other objects, features and advantages of the invention willbecome apparent as the description proceeds.

In the drawings which show a preferred embodiment of the invention,

Fig. l is a cross-sectional view of an extrusion press provided withloading apparatus according to the invention, taken along line 1--1 ofFig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the press according to Fig. l,showing the region of the container and loading mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal section through the press,generally taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Figs. 4, 6, 7, 9, 1l are fragmentary diagrammatic views generallysimilar to Fig. 1, and Figs. 5, 8, 10, l2 are fragmentary diagrammaticviews generally similar to Fig. 3, illustrating various operatingpositions of the parts.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawings, the horizontal metalextrusion press illustrated therein comprises a frame 20, a receptacleor container generally indicated at 22 and supported through a housing23 on the frame 20, a liner 24 in the container, a die 25, and areciprocable tool in the form of a plunger or pressing stem 26 mountedin a reciprocable stem holder 28 which is supported for movement alongthe axis of the press. The stem and its holder are actuated by ahydraulic ram 29 so as to exert pressure on the billet through anauxiliary tool such as a dummy block '30 (see Fig. 5) in theconventional manner. Four tie rods 32 serve to connect both ends of thepress.

An inclined chute 34 (Fig. l) is provided to receive dummy blocks 30which will roll down therein until the first block is stopped by a wall36 of a lifting device 38 so that the block will rest on a slantedlifting table 40. When the table 40 is raised by means of a uid operatedcylinder 42 and piston 44 to the position shown in broken lines in Fig.l, the dummy block will roll down from the slanted table 40 over the topof wall 36 and will then be handled together with a billet, whereas thetable 40 will be lowered again to receive the next dummy block. A tail46 attached to the table 40 prevents the next dummy block from movingforward before the table 40 has completed its upward and downwardmovements.

A heated billet 50 to be extruded will be conveyed to a iixed inclinedplate 52 and will roll down therefrom onto a rocker arm 60 whichlikewise receives the dummy block 30 rolling down from table 40. Therocker arm 60 is provided with surfaces 62 (Fig. 7) to form a trayhaving a V-shaped groove and extending along the horizontal axis of thepress through a distance sufiicient to simultaneously support the billet50 and dummy block 30. Further, the rocker arm is provided with a stopmember or jaw 64 having an effective surface 65, the stop member beinglinked to the rocker arm at 66. A cylinder 68 is pivotally mounted onthe rocker arm vat 70 and its piston 72 is linked to the stop member 64at 74. Member 64 is normally in the active position shown in Fig. l tocooperate with surfaces 62 and stop the billet and 3 sammy bleak if thcy@ad 'its $91.1 Qf the .raster in the'direction towards the press. Billet50 may be longer than the width of arm 60 Lso thatit .projects therefromk.in .the ydirection ltoward the container (.see Fig. 3), `providedtheprotrii ing pyntipn amounts to lessV than half the billet inQtheinltialposition S9 that the semer 0f gravity .0f the bills? is.sucenfly supported. To Tthis end, the width rof the arm i t than halfthe maximum length of the billet, .plus `the thickness of thegdummyblock. i

As shown Vat 76, Vthe rocker arm is pivotally .mounted on la bracket 78which :also carries a cylinder 8d piyotally connected to `'the bracket778 at 82. Piston 84 (Fig. V44) of cylinder 80 l.is linked'toftherockerarm at tt?. i Arranged adjacent Vto the centainer'is 1a `supportingmember 90"vvhich is adapted to participate in the charging operation andhas top surfaces 92 (Fig. 9) Dforming a substantially V-shaped grooveand entending `through -a dis- Vtance'shorterthanthe length of thesurfaces 62 but sufficient to support at least the dummy block V3i). Thesupport 90 is vertically movable by meanslof a cylinder 94 and piston 96(Fig. 3) so that it may be raised and lowered-along a straight path likea hydraulic or pneumatic jack.

After the dummy block 30V and billet Si) have been received on rockerarm and before .the stem 26 leaves its retraeted'position,*pressurefluid is admitted `torcylinder 8 0 to swing the rocker arm transverselyof the axis of the press from its initial position shown `in Figs. Vl to3 to its charging position'close to the axis of the press as.illustrated in Figs.` 4 and 5. In this position, the billet and dummyblock lare engaged by one of the surfaces `62 of afm'60 and/by theeffective surface 65 of member 64 in such a manner that the axes lof thebillet and dummy block substantially coincide with the anis of thepress. Rockerv arm 60 entends from the region adjacent to the retractedstem 26 through more than half of the distance to 4the container.Cylinder 94 is actuated, preferably simultaneously with cylinder80,'toraise'the supporting member 90 lfrom its lower rest position toits upper position shown in Figs. 4 and 5. vThe'position and dimensionsof member 9i) are such that it substantially lills the space betweenrocker arm 60 and container 22, the top surfaces 92 of member 90bei`ngaligned with one of the surfaces 62 of arm 66 and' with the'eifectivesurface 65 of stop member A64..

Stem 26 will now be advanced to push the dummy block and billet alongthe top of rocker arm 6@ onto the supporting member 90 and towards thecontainer. When the stem holder 2S approaches the rocker arm 650, caremust be taken that no interference occurs and, therefore, the rockera'rm must be withdrawn. This can readily be done since at this time thebillet and dummy block have been moved off the rocker arm. While thestern 26 continues its advanceQcylinder 6,8 is actuated to swing thestop member 64 through the intermediate position shown in Fig. 6 to itslower inactive or open position in which it is spaced from stem 26 so asto clear the stem during the subsequent movement of rocker arm 6i).Cylinder 8% is then actuated to return the rocker arm 69 to its initialposition, whereupon the stop member 64 may be lifted again. The partsare now approximately in the position shown in Figs. 7 and 8, and itshould be noted that'a substantial portion of the billet has been inserted or charged in the container. The remainder of billet 50 and thedummy block 30 are safely supported and guided Y YLIt will be clear thatthe apparatus described is very advantageous. The combination of aloading member in the form of a rocker arm, on the one hand, and asupporting member performing a vertical motion, on the other hand,results in simple 'movements and avoids complicated actuating mechanismwhich would not operate satisfactorily in practice. The rocker armpermits to load the billet and dummy blockin a convenient and efficientmanner, and the supporting member allows rapid withdrawal `upon approachof Athestem holderso .thatthe supporting member maybe retained in itsactive position during a relatively long period of time.

Moreover, the V,vertically .movable supporting member may readily beused for the loadingnof additional tools such as cleaning disks into thepress if residue of metal must be removed from the container. This isthe case, for example, when extruding copper and copper alloys wah .asbrass When cleaning disks are used, they are normally of annular shapeas indicated `at l106 in the drawings. They may be taken from aworktable 102 (Fig. 2) 'and then caused to roll down an inclined chuteV104 until they are stopped by a feeding device 106 showndiagrammatically. The device 106 will be actuated when required and willcause one disk at a time to roll down a chute extension 10S disposedadjacent to `the container, until the disk is 4stopped by a rear walll110 whereupon `it will drop through an opening 112 (Fig. l) in thechute. At this instant, the supporting or jack member 90 is in its lowerposition and the disk will be received thereon as shown in Figs. 9 and`10,. After the stern 26 has been withdrawn upon completion of anextrusion operation, cylinder 94 will be actuated to lift member 90 withthe disk thereon as shown in Figs. 1l and l2. The disk 160 may now bepushed through the container by the stem 26 to remove residue such as ashell of metal adhering to the inner wall of the container bore.Supporting member 90 will be returned to its lower position by means ofcylinder 94 when the stem holder 28 approaches the member 96 during itsadvance.

Thus, the loading station for the billet and dummy block is locatedadjacent to the retracted stern from where the billet and block may bepushed or charged into the container in one continuous stroke of thestem, whereas the loading station for the cleaning disk is locatedadjacent the container `so that a relatively short movement of the stemwill be sufficient to insert or charge the disk in the container.

The operation of the various mechanism may be controlled by limitswitches. is diagrammatically shown in Fig. 3 with regard to thewithdrawal of the rocker arm 60 and supporting member 90. Limit switches120 and 122 are secured to the frame 2i) while a projection or cam 124is mounted for movement with the stem holder 28. When the latterapproaches the rocker arm 60, cam 124 will trip limit switch 120 whichwill cause the actuation of cylinder and the withdrawal of the rockerarm 60. When thereafter the stem holder approaches the supporting member90, cam 124 will trip limit switch 122 to actuate cylinder 94 which willlower the supporting member 90.

As used herein, the term loading refers generally to the conveying ofobjects from a region remote from a horizontal path to a positionproximate to or in such path, while the term charging refers to shiftingthe objects along the horizontal path for inserting them in a receptaclesuch as the container of the press described.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has' been described, itWill be understood that various modications and changes may be madewithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as delinedin the appended claims. The individual cylinder and piston assemblies ofthe apparatus may be operated hydraulically or pneumatically.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. Apparatus for simultaneously loading a longer object and a shorterobject and supporting said objects for movement along a horizontal path,comprising a rocker arm movable generally transversely of saidhorizontal path, a fixed tray provided on said arm and extending alongsaid path through a distance suiiicient for simultaneously supportingboth of said odjects, said arm having an initial position remote fromsaid path for receiving said objects, a movable jaw mounted on saidrocker arm and normally positioned to retain said objects on said tray,actuating mechanism for moving s'aid arm between said initial positionand a charging position close to said path, actuating mechanism mountedon said arm for retracting and raising said movable jaw, a substantiallyvertically movable supporting member disposed adjacent said arm andextending along said path through a distance shorter than that coveredby said tray but sufficient to support at least said shorter object, andactuating mechanism for moving said supporting member between a lowerrest position and an upper active position for supporting and guidingsaid objects, whereby said arm and member are adapted to cooperate insupporting said objects along said path but said arm is withdrawable toits initial position with its movable jaw retracted to clear said pathwhile said member is still in its upper position.

2. Apparatus for simultaneously loading a rst object and a second,relatively short object and supporting said objects during a chargingmovement along a horizontal path and for subsequently loading andsupporting a third, relatively short object, comprising a pivotedloading structure movable generally transversely of said horizontal pathand extending along said path through a distance suiicient forsimultaneously supporting both said rst and second objects, saidstructure having an initial position remote from said path for receivingsaid first and second objects, fluid operated mechanism for moving saidstructure between said initial position and a charging position close tosaid path, a fluid operated jack disposed adjacent said structure andextending along said path through a distance shorter than that coveredby said structure, said jack having a lower rest position and an upperposition for supporting and guiding said objects, said uid operatedmechanism being operable to withdraw said structure from its chargingposition while said jack is still in its upper position, said jack beingarranged for withdrawal from its upper position 'when said chargingmovement of the rst and second objects has been substantially completed,and a conveying device for feeding said third object directly to saidfluid operated jack after said jack has been withdrawn to its lowerposition and before it is raised again to its upper position.

3. Apparatus for simultaneously loading ya longer object and a shorterobject in a machine having a tool mounted on a reciprocable holder andfor supporting said objects while charged by said tool alonga horizontalpath into a receptacle of said machine, comprising a pivoted loadingstructure spaced from said receptacle but extending along said paththrough a distancev suicient for simultaneously supporting both of saidobjects, said structure being movable generally transversely of saidhorizontal path and having an initial position remote from said path4for receiving said objects, actuating mechanism for moving saidstructure beween said initial position and a charging position close tosaid path, a substantially vertically movable supporting member disposedintermediate said receptacle and structure and extending along said paththrough a distance shorter than that covered by said structure, andactuating mechanism for moving said supporting member between a lowerrest position and an upper active position for supporting and guidings'aid objects, whereby said structure and member are adapted tocooperate in supporting said objects along said path but said structureis' withdrawable to its initial position to clear a portion of said pathupon approach of said holder while said member still supports at leastsaid shorter object, said member being withdrawable to subsequentlyclear the remainder of said path when said holder approaches saidmember.

References Cited in the file of this patent Y UNITED STATES PATENTS

